The award-winning documentary film A Life Among Elephants will make its U.S. debut this weekend at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in downtown Silver Spring.
The film will be screened on Saturday afternoon during the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, which was founded in 1993 and is the country’s largest and longest-running film festival dedicated to environmental issues.
Silver Spring resident and native Monica Schorn was named the DCEFF’s Executive Director last year.
A Life Among Elephants showcases the remarkable journey of Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the world’s foremost elephant scientist. For over sixty years, his groundbreaking research and conservation efforts have shaped our understanding of elephants.
After successful broadcasts on Arte in France and Germany and a theatrical premiere in the UK, the documentary has garnered rave reviews and multiple award nominations and won this year’s Flo Stone & Roger D. Stone Award for Outstanding Artistry in Filmmaking at the DCEFF.
Douglas-Hamilton’s story begins in 1965 at Tanzania’s Lake Manyara, where he pioneered the study of wild African elephants, uncovering their complex social structures and distinct personalities. With his wife, Oria, and daughters, Saba and Dudu, he formed deep bonds with elephant families, including the memorable matriarch Boadicea and the gentle mother Virgo.
When a devastating poaching crisis emerged in the 1970s, Douglas-Hamilton transformed from researcher to defender. His important documentation of Africa’s elephant population decline, which saw a 50% drop between 1979 and 1989, played a crucial role in securing the 1989 global ivory trade ban. Later, amid another resurgence of poaching that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 elephants between 2010 and 2012, he again led the fight, using scientific data to advocate for stronger protections, leading to China’s 2018 ivory trade ban.
The documentary features never-before-seen archival footage, intimate interviews with Douglas-Hamilton’s family, and renowned figures like Jane Goodall. It poignantly captures his return to Samburu after a life-threatening accident, accompanied by his protégé, David Daballen, as he reconnects with the elephant families central to his life’s work.
As the founder of the Save the Elephants nonprofit in 1993, Douglas-Hamilton’s legacy continues through a new generation of researchers committed to protecting Africa’s most iconic species. This compelling film celebrates his extraordinary contributions to elephant conservation and highlights the ongoing need to protect these remarkable animals for future generations.
Produced by the award-winning team from Maramedia under their MaraDocs label, A Life Among Elephants was directed by Nigel Pope and executive produced by Jackie Savery and Justin Purefoy. Editors Alex Broad and Fraser Purdie provided additional editing and scoring talents.
This film marks the inaugural release under the MaraDocs label, first aired on ARTE France and is distributed by Munich-based Autentic.
“It was a privilege to work on this film and I’m thrilled the film has been recognised for this award at the DC Environmental Film Festival,” Pope said. “I’ve always been fascinated by elephants and no one understands their subtle world and the challenges of conserving them like Iain.”
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital kicks off on Thursday, March 20, and runs through Saturday, March 29. The festival’s schedule and tickets are available for purchase at dceff.org.
Photo: Iain Douglas-Hamilton studying elephants in the 1970s. © Save the Elephants